Burger King’s Twitter Hack Explanation

The official Twitter account of Burger King, @BurgerKing, was recently hacked. This was not a random attack as you clearly see below. Instead, Burger King’s main rival took the spotlight in its place.

This is the dawn of a new era in industrial espionage. One can argue that no company could have benefited more from this stunt than McDonald’s. Even more interesting is the background. The image promotes a new product offering; Fish McBites.

While there is no evidence as to who the hackers are, many suspect the group Anonymous to be behind the attack.

One thing is clear, this was a calculated hack. The strategic image choice leaves open the possibility that perhaps McDonald’s had some involvement. It only takes a few people in a relay chat room to plan and execute the hack; sometimes in only a few minutes.

It will be interesting witness future social media hacks with similar characteristics.